Means for projecting ultra-violet sunlight rays into buildings



Feb. 18, 1930. J. w. D. CHESNEY 1,747,928

MEANS FOR PROJECTING ULTRA VIOLET SUNLIGHT RAYS INTO BUILDINGS Filed May3, 192a IN VEN TOR. Jac ues W0 6/785/76f MA/f A TTORNE Y.

Patented Feb. 18, 1930 PATENT OFFICE JACQUES W. D. CHESNEY, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS MEANS FOR PROJECTING ULTRA-VIOLET SUNLIGH'J. RAYS INTOBUILDINGS A lication filed May a, 1926. Serial No. 190,290.

My invention relates to an improved means for making available thebeneficial effects of sunlight in enclosed rooms, with substantiallythe. same effect and benefits, as are to be derived therefrom when outof doors.

It has long been known that the action of sunlight upon the human body,out of doors, has been stimulating and helpful in a marked degree, andthat in many cases it has demonstrated curative properties. In lateryears, scientific research in connection with light rays generally, andthe suns rays in particular, has disclosed the presence in the categoryof rays generally called light rays,

of rays of too short a wave length, and other rays of too long a wavelength, to produce any effect of visibility, as far as the human eye candiscern, the rays of too short wave length being known as ultra-violetrays and the Q waves of too long wave length being known as infra-redrays. Investigation has shown that the beneficial effect of sunlight onthe human body is due very largely to these ultraviolet and infra-redrays. Many attempts 23 have been made to produce ultra-violet rays andinfra-red rays artificially, to avail of their beneficial effects wherethe action of sunlight cannot be had, and with considerable success. Inproducingthese rays artixo ficially however, it has been found thatbesides the true ultra-violet and infra-red rays, possessing biologicvalue, other rays are also produced which are not only not helpful, butare abiotic in their effect. a It has now been definitely ascertainedthat many conditions of malformation and malnutrition in the human bodyare traceable directly to insufficient effect thereon of ultravioletrays, resulting in defective metabolism, particularly of the elementcalcium audits compounds, for example rickets and other defects of bonestructure and many diseases, for example tuberculosis, cancer, asthmaand other ills of the pulmonary type.

While the beneficial effects of ultra-violet against inclement weather,the material 0 and infra-red rays from sunlight are freely availableoutdoors, many persons from the nature of their occupation are confinedmore or less closely indoors and are not free to avail themselves ofthese effects. Furthermore, it has been established that glass ofordinary construction, although it freely transmits through it, lightrays of visible wave length, is practically opaque to ultraviolet andinfra-red rays, which results in building interiors, althou h welllighted, being practically devoid o the rays referred to. This largelyaccounts for the general condition of anemia commonly occurring inpersons of indoor occupation.

' It is the object of my present invention to make available indoors,and without the difficulty and expense incident to producing them,ultra-violet rays and infra-red rays, by providin means for collectingthem with other rays rom sunlight, and concentrating and reflecting themthrough suitable apertures in the walls of buildings into the roomsinside the building, where they are referably diffused to increase thearea 0 their influence. In connection with devices of the kinddescribed, I provide where necessary or advisable, screens or shields ofspecial material to protect the interior of the buildin 76 these screensor shields being transparent to ultra-violet and infra-red rays. In thisway I make available within the walls of the building, the beneficialeffect of these rays without any expense in producing them, the so raysbeing thus available for the occupants of the building, whether for thepurpose of maintaining them in good condition and health, thusfortifying them against the attack of disease, or in cases of disease,treat- 3:; ing the skin with said rays, since it will at once beappreciated that ray baths may be effectively given indoors althoughthis is not entirely feasible outdoors.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof in which 1 illustrate invertical sectional view a window of ordinary construction in the wall ofa building and the construction and arrangement of my concentrating,reflecting and diffusing devices employed to project the desired raysinto a room inside of a building wall.

As shown in the drawings, I indicate the wall of a building at 10, thefloor of a room in the building at 11, the ceiling of the room at 12 anda window in the wall 10, at 13. The window 13 is provided with lower andupper sashes 14 and 15 arranged to slide vertically in guides in thewindow frame in the usual manner. In carrying out my invention with awindow of the construction described, the upper sash 15 is loweredsufficiently to permit the projection of a beam of rays horizontallybetween the upper edge of the sash and the inner surface of the upperportion of the window frame. A first reflector 16 is pivotally connectedwith the window frame 17 and secured in desired angular position bymeans of a slotted bracket- 18 pivotally connected with the window frameand secured also at its slotted portion by means of a clamping screw 19to a lug 20 carried by the under surface of the reflector 16.

The reflector 16 is preferably of metal having a cylindrical uppersurface which is concave, to receive rays of sunlight that may fall uponit as indicateddiagrammatically by the lines 21. The degree of curvatureof the concave surface of the reflector 16, is such as to concentratethe reflected rays as indicated at 22, upon the lower surface of asecond reflector 23 mounted on the upper part of the window casing, thissecond reflector being also concave on its reflecting surface and ofcylindrical conformation. The reflector 23 is also preferably metal andserves to direct the rays 22 falling upon it, in practically a parallelbeam as indicated at 24, through the opening between the upper sash andthe upper portion of the window against a third metal reflector 25secured to the upper portion of the window frame inside of the room,this third metal reflector being convex and of cylindrical conformationso as to diffuse the beam of rays 24, to different parts of the room asindicated by the lines 26. Each of the reflectors described ispreferably as long as the window is wide, to the end that the entireopening between the upper sash and the window frame ma be utilized totransmit the desired rays into the room. Each of the reflecting surfacesof the several reflectors is preferably coated with material which isnon-absorbent to ultra-violet and infra-red rays, for example chromium.If preferred the reflectors may be made of aluminum, duralumin,magnalium, or dirigold, either with or without a special reflectingsurface of chromium or other material capable of reflecting theultra-violet and infrared rays, since these materials are themselvesreflectors of such rays.

The reflecting devices described may be employed either with directsunlight or with skyshine and in using the device, the reflector 16 isadjusted to most effectively receive the beam of rays 21 depending uponthe location of the principal source of said rays at the time. Theamount of the rays collected is determined of course, by the extent ofthe reflector 16, and the degree of diffusion of the rays in the room isdetermined by the degree of ourvature of the reflector 25.

To facilitate the use of my devices in cold weather, I provide a screenor shield 27 to be placed across the opening between the upper sash andthe upper portion of the window casing, consisting of a suitable frameand a thin sheet of material across it, which is transparent toultra-violet and infra-red rays, for example celluloid, albumen, gelatinor collodion, and where albumen or gelatin is used for this purpose, itmay be weather proofed in any desired manner for example by theapplication of tannic acid, or formaldehyde. By having the material inthe frame 27 quite thin, it offers practically no resistance to the flowof ultra-violet and infra-red rays through it, and the relation of thereflector 23 serves to protect the screen or shield from the elements.

WVhile I have for convenience illustrated the use of my devices inconnection with a window in the outer wall of a building, it will beunderstoodthat they are not so limited, as they may be employed withequal effect for the purpose described, where an aperture is providedthrough the wall of a building in any manner, whether specially made forthe purpose, or by establishing other openings through the wall, forexample doorways and ventilating openings.

From the above it will be noted that I have produced an improved meansfor and method of introducing or projecting ultraviolet and infra-redrays of sunlight. whether in the form of direct sunshine or indirectlyin the form of sk shine, (that is, diffused rays of sunlight re ectedand refracted by that part of the atmosphere called the sky,) throughthe outside wall of a building into its interior, by providing anaperture in said wall ofl'ering no obstruction to the passagetherethrough of said rays, thus making available in an enclosed space,the desirable effects of said rays upon the human body, whether sucheffects are chemical, as in the case of ultra-violet rays, or tonic, asin the case of infra-red rays; also, that to render said means andmethod practical, on account of all known building materials includingglass, being opaque, or substantially so, to said rays, and the need ofprotecting any open apertures through outside walls from inclementweather conditions, such as rain, snow, wind and cold, my means andmethod permit the use of an aperture of relativel small cross-section bycorrespondingly con ensing and concentrating the beam of said rayspassin through the aperture, and protecting sai aperture by one of thereflectors emp oyed, provision further being made to close said apertureagainst weather conditions if desired, y thin material transparent'tosaid rays. For convenience, I refer to saidrays in the claims asbiologic rays, meaningb said term and limiting its meaning to eit er,ultra-violet rays or infra-red raysor bothfderived d1- rectl andindirectly from silnlight.

W ile I have shown my invention in the particular embodiment abovedescribed, it will be understood that I;do not limit myself to thisexact construction-as I may employ equivalents known to the art it thetime of the filing of this application without departing from "the scopeof the -appended claims.

What I claim'is: I

1. As a means for rojecting ultra violet rays into a room of a ui ding,the combination of a first reflector outside of the building forcollecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, a secondreflector 1n the ath of said concentrated beam for projecting it throughan aperture th rough an outer wall of the building, and a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, said second reflector. being above and adjacent to saidaperture and protecting said aperture from weather conditions. 2..As ameans for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of a building, thecombination of a first reflector outside of the building for collecting,reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, a second reflector inthe path of said concentrated beam for projecting it through an aperturethrough an outer Wall of the building, and a third reflector inside ofthe building for receiving said beam from said second reflector andprojectin its rays to a desired location within the buil ing, said thirdreflector having a curved reflecting surface reflecting said rays indiverging directions.

3. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outside of the buildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrough an aperture through an outer Wall of the building, a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, and mounting devices for said first reflector permittingit to have difi'erent inclinations to rays received by said firstreflector.

4. As a means for projecting ultra-violht iays into a room of a uildinthe combination of a first reflector outsi e of the buildforcollecting-reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, a secondreflector in t e path of said concentrated beam for proj cting itthrough an aperture throu h an ojiter wall of the building, a third reector inside of the buildin for receving said beam from said second reector and pr6jecting its rays to a desired location within the building,ivotal devices supporting a first part of said first reflector from thebuilding, arms supporting another part of said first reflector indifierent angular positions, and clamping evices rigidly securing theparts together with said first reflector in a desired angular position.V

5. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outside of thebuildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrough an aperture through an outer wall of the building, and a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflectorand projecting its rays to a desired location within thebuilding, said first reflector having a curved reflecting surfacereflecting said rays in converging directions, ahd said second reflectorhaving its reflecting surf ace substantially at the focus of said firstreflector, and

said third reflector having a curved reflecting surface reflecting saidrays in diverging directions.

6. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a' room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outsideof the buildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrough an aperture through an outer wall of the uilding, a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, and a sheet'of thin material transparent to said rays forclosing said aperture.

7. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combinationof a first reflector outside of the buildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrough an aperture through an outer wall of the building, a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projectin its rays to a desired location within thebui ding, each of said reflectors having areflecting surfacenon-absorbent to said ultra-violet rays, and

a sheet of thin material transparent to said rays for closing saidaperture.

8. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outside of the buildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrough an aperture through an outer wall of the building, and a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, each of said reflectors having a cylindrical reflectingsurface.

9. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outside of the buildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrough an aperture through an outer wall of the building, and a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, said third reflector having a curved reflecting sur facereflecting said rays in diverging directions, each of said reflectorshaving a cylindrical reflecting surface.

10. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outside of the buildingfor collecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of said concentrated beam for projecting itthrou h an aperture through an outer wall of the building, a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, and

mounting devices for said first reflector per mitting it to havedifferent inclinations to the wall of the building, whereby said firstreflector may be moved to a position to receive.

said rays and direct them against said second reflector for any angle ofincidence relatively to the wall of the building of said rays receivedby said first reflector, each of said regcctors having a cylindricalreflecting surace.

11. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a first reflector outside of the buildingfor collectingpreflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, asecond reflector in the path of, said concentrated beam for projectingit through an aperture through an outer wall of the building, a thirdreflector inside of the building for receiving said beam from saidsecond reflector and projecting its rays to a desired location withinthe building, pivotal devices supporting a first part of said firstreflector from the building, arms supporting another part of said firstreflector 1n difl'erent angular positions, and clamping devices rigidlysecuring the parts together with said first reflector in a desiredangular position, each of said reflectors having a cylindricalreflecting surface.

12. As a means for projecting ultra violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a window frame, a sash movable in the upperpart of the frame to leave an aperture between the upper part of thesash and the upper part of the frame, a first reflector outside of thebuilding and supported across said frame below said aperture forcollecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, a secondreflector supported across said frame above said aperture in the path ofsaid concentrated beam for projecting it through said aperture, and athird reflector supported across said frame inside of the building andabove said aperture for receiving said beam and reflecting itdownwardly.

13. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a window frame, a sash movable in the upperpart of the frame to leave an aperture between the upper part of thesash and the upper part of the frame, a first reflector outside of thebuilding and supported across said frame below said aperture forcollecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, a secondreflector supported across said frame above said aperture in the path ofsaid concentrated beam for projecting it through said aperture, and athird reflector supported across said frame inside of the building andabove said aperture for receiving said beam and reflecting itdownwardly, each of said reflectors having a cylindrical reflectingsurface.

14. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a window frame, a sash movable in the upperpart of the frame to leave an aper turc between the upper part of thesash and the upper part of the frame, a first reflector outside of thebuilding and supported across said frame below said aperture forcollecting, reflecting and concentrating a beam of said rays, a secondreflector supported across said frame above said aperture in the path ofsaid concentrated beam for projecting it through said aperture, and athird reflector supported across said frame inside of the building andabovesaid aperture for receiving said beam and reflecting it downwardly,and a sheet of thin material transparent to said rays for closing saidaperture.

15. As a means for projecting ultra-violet rays into a room of abuilding, the combination of a window frame, a sash vable in the upperpart of the frame to leave an aperto said rays for projecting themthrough said aperture, and a sheet of-thi n material transparent to saidrays for losin" said aperture.

17. The method of projecting ultra-violet rays of sunlight and 'skyshineinto a room provided in its side wall with anaperture oi relativelysmallcross section, consisting in collecting said rays, concentratingthem outside of the room into a beam of i'elatively small cross sectionand of the proiiortionsof said aperture, reflecting said concentratedbeam in concentrated condition th; ough said aperture, and dispersingrays of beam in the a room.

18. The method of projecting ultra-violet rays of sunlight and skyshineinto a room provided in its side wall with an aperture of relativelysmall cross section,'consisting in collecting said rays, concentratingthem outside of the room into a beam of relatively small cross sectionand of the proportions of said aperture, reflecting said concentratedbeam in concentrated condition through said aperture, dispersing rays ofsaid .beam in the room, and covering said aperture with materialtransparent to said rays.

19. As a means for projecting the ultraviolet rays of sunlight andskyshine into rooms. the combination of first devices for collecting andconcentrating an incident beam of ultra-violet rays from such source anddirecting said rays in a concentrated beam through an aperture in thewall of a room into its interior, said aperture having a sizesubstantially less than the cross section of said incident beam, andsecond devices in the path ofsaid concentrated beam of ultra-violet rayswithin the room for directing said rays to a desired location in theinterior of the room.

20. As a means for projecting the ultraviolet rays of sunlight andskvshine into rooms. the combination of first devices for collecting andconcentrating an incident beam of ultra-violet rays from such source anddirecting said rays in a concentrated beam through an aperture in thewall of a room into its interior, said aperture having a sizesubstantially less than the cross section of said incident beam, seconddevices in the path of said concentrated beam of ultra-violet rayswithin the room for directing said rays to a desired location in theinterior of the room,

and a sheet of thin material transparent to I said ultra-violet rays covring said aperture.

' 21. The method of projecting ultraviolet rays of sunlight and sliyshine into a spacenormally shielded there rom, which consists incollecting said rays, concentrating them, exteriorly of said space, intoa beam of relatively small cross-section, and reflecting saidconcentrated beam, in concentrated condition, into said space, and indispersing the rays of said beam within said space.

In'witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe by name this 27th day of April,A. D. 1926. JACQUES W. D. CHESNEY.

